Improvement in suspension-slides for chandeliers



M. W. HOUSE.

Suspension-Slides for Chandeliers.

a y m I n f P THE WAPMSCU. FHDTO-LKTH.39& H m PLACIJIY.

Nrrnn Sra'rns Enron.

NON-EXPLOSIVE-LAMP COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SUSPENSION-SHOES FOR'CHANDE LIERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 157,448, dated December 8, 1874; application filed September 8, 1874.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARK Wreenvs HoUsE, of Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have made an invention of a new and useful Improvement in Suspension- Slides for Chandeliers and for other Implements; and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description and specification of the same.

The object of this invention is to enable chandeliers, gasaliers, and kerosene-fixtures to be readily raised and lowered, and to be secured firmly in any position they may be placed.

The invention consists of certain combinations of a slide-boss and the slide-rod of the chandelier with peculiar clamping mechanism, as set forth in the claims at the close of this specification.

In order that the invention may be fully un-' derstood, I have represented in the accompanying drawing, and will proceed to describe, a suspension-slide embodying my invention in the best form in which I have thus far embodied it.

Figure 1 represents a side view of said slide. Fig. 2 represents a similar view of the same with half of the boss and tubular suspensionrod removed. Fig. 3 represents a top view of the same with part of the said boss removed.

The suspension-slide represented in the said drawings has a boss, A, which is applied to the lower end of the tubular suspension-rod B, which is fixed to the ceiling of the room or other object from which the chandelier is to be suspended. This boss is traversed by the slide-rod G, which is constructed to slide through the boss into the tubular suspension- -rod B. In case the suspension-slide is used for kerosene-fixtures, the sliderod 0 may be solid, and may be fitted at its lower end with a ring, a, or hook, to which the fixture is applied. In case the suspension-slide is used for gasaliers, the slide-rod 0 may be tubular, so

as to convey gas, and a packing-box may be arranged to pack the joint between the sliderod and the tubular suspension-rod B. The boss A forms a casing for the clamping mechanism of the suspension-slide, and for this purpose it may have any desirable form or construction. The clamping mechanism consists of a pair of clamp-blocks, D D, which abut face to face, and are grooved to permit the slide-rod to be passed through the crevice between them. Each clamp-block is connected with the adjacent side of the boss by means of a toggle-bar, E E, whose heels 8 s are constructed to rock in seats in the boss; and the faces of the two clamp-blocks are fitted with teeth 9 g, which engage, so that the two clam pblocks, when moved upward or downward, are caused to maintain their proper relative positions. The two toggle-bars E E are of such lengths that when the clamp-blocks are moved downward they jam upon or gripe the sliderod between them a little before the togglebars can reach horizontal positions. Hence, when the slide-rod O is showed upward the friction of its surface upon the surfaces of the grooved faces of the clamp-blocks causes the latter to move upward, and, as such upward movement raises the inner ends of the togglebars, the clamp-blocks can separate slightly and permit the slide-rod O to be raised freely; but when the slide-rod is pulled downward the friction of the same surfaces tends to cause the slide-blocks to move downward, by which movement the toggle-bars are brought more nearly into line with each other,and the faces of the clamp-blocks are caused to approach and gripe the slide-rod. In order to insure the downward movement of the clamp-blocks, and thus insure the automatic griping of the slide-rod, a spring, H, is provided, which is arranged to press upon the upper surfaces of the clampblocks and depress them; but the same effect may be produced by a spring otherwise arranged-as, for example, in the angTe between the back of one of the clampblocks and the adjacent toggle-bar. Such a spring is represented in the drawing at c; and, if deemed best, both of the springs above described may be used in the same implement. In order that the clamp-blocks may be prevented from griping the slide-rod when the latter is to be lowered for the purpose of lowering the fixture connected with its lower en d, one of the toggle-bars, E, is extended through a slot in the boss A, and its outer end if is formed into an eye, to which a cord may be I down.

applied. The extended toggle-bar E t thus constitutes a lever for raising the clampblocks, and for holding them in a raised position while the slide-rod C is lowered or drawn When the fixture has been lowered to the desired position the lever is released, and the action of the spring immediately effects the downward movement of the clampblocks, and the clamping of the slide-rod and of the fixture in the positions to which they have been lowered.

If deemed best, the clamp-block may be made in one piece with the toggle-bar that acts upon it; but in such event the surface of the clamp-block should not extend below the line drawn through the opposite points in the boss, upon which the outer ends of the togglebars turn as centers; or, if preferred, a single movable clamp-block may be used in connection with a fixed clamp-block or grooved guide at the opposite side of the slide-rod, and in this case the faces of the movable and fixed clamp-blocks must not be connected by engaging teeth.

It will be perceived that the clamp-blocks hereinbefore described have clamping-faces, which extend for a considerable space along the length of the slide-rod; consequently the clamping strain is distributed, and is not accumulated at one circular line, as it would be if the clamping-surfaces were convex curves of small diameter, the tendency of which would be to indent the slide-rod, or the pipe in case of the application of the invention to a gasalier. I therefore do not include within the scope of my invention clamping-wheels of small diameter Whose surfaces are concentric, or thereabout, with the pivots upon which they turn.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the suspension-boss, the clampblocks, the toggle-bar, and the spring for insuring the gripe of the clampblocks.

2. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the suspension-boss, the clampblocks, the toggle-bar, and the lever-shank for preventing the clamp-blocks from clamping.

Witness my hand this 2d day of September, A. D. 1874.

MARK WIGGINS HOUSE.

Witnesses:

M. R. KEITH, R0131. ROUTLEDGE. 

